Last month, I began sinking deeper and deeper into the reading slump, and the last week of October came with me having read zero books. Zero! I’ve gone this whole year reading a handful of books every single month, and then suddenly, here comes a month with absolutely nothing. Of course, I did some reading here and there, and I had the audio book of The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson, but I wasn’t finishing anything.
Last week, however, a book rescued me from the reading slump, and I ended up reading this thing in a couple days. In fact, it was the first book I’ve borrowed from my school library, so I was excited about it! And after that, I went after the second one as well. I couldn’t put these down, and I’m excited to jump into the third one tomorrow when I can borrow it from school. Thank God I was able to get SOMETHING done in October!
Legend by Marie Lu
Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopian
Synopsis: What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.
From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.
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I saw this on the shelf at my school’s library once, and made a mental note of it. I had known of the books before, and I did want to read them, but have never actually got around to it. I have only ever read one Marie Lu book before (The Kingdom of Back), but ended up quitting with 100 pages left because it was low-key disturbing and I really wasn’t in the mood to be, well, disturbed. It was an incredibly good book, however, and I love the story to death. Maybe someday I’ll end up finishing it. Who knows.
Anyway, I picked up Legend on a whim before I went to class last week, and after reading the first chapter I knew right away that I wasn’t going to be able to put this book down. I had put in for a school ID (can’t borrow books without one) the day before, so I literally went to pick it up, then went straight back to the library to borrow it. I knew I was hooked.
I finished it in a few days, and honestly, I’m torn about what exactly I should rate this. I adored the characters and the story, but the writing felt a little young. Which was strange considering that there were multiple scenes of violence and stuff like that. I later found out that this was Lu’s debut novel, so that made sense. It read exactly like a debut, pretty much. If you showed me Legend without telling me that it was Marie Lu, I never would have guessed it was her after reading The Kingdom of Back. The writing style is pretty different.
Anyway, that in no way means that I didn’t like the writing. Yeah, I had problems with the book here and there, but all in all, this was an amazing debut novel! I love dystopian settings, so the atmosphere is another thing that brought me in. But I believe the characters are what I love the most, and what’s keeping me from putting it down! I highly recommend this book to any Sci-Fi/Dystopian lovers out there!
Rating: 4/5 Stars
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis: To end the Final Empire and restore freedom, Vin killed the Lord Ruler. But as a result, the Deepness—the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists—is back, along with increasingly heavy ashfalls and ever more powerful earthquakes. Humanity appears to be doomed.
Having escaped death at the climax of The Well of Ascension only by becoming a Mistborn himself, Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world. Vin is consumed with guilt at having been tricked into releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin wants to end the world, and its near omniscience and ability to warp reality make stopping it seem impossible. Vin can’t even discuss it with Elend lest Ruin learn their plans!
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Well guys, I’ve finally finished the Mistborn trilogy. How does it feel, you ask me? Let me tell you.
It feels like this book carved my heart out of my chest, threw it on the ground an stomped on it, drove over it with a car, then tried to put it back in my chest. In other words, this book crushed my soul a little bit. Not only was this the end of a trilogy that I harbor a deep love for, but the ending was just, ugh! I was listening to the audio book in the back of the car on the way home from a basketball tournament, and I’m literally sitting there crying. It was a beautiful, shocking ending, but I just…wish things had turned out a little better for the two main characters, you know? If you read this book, you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about.
But hey, I really did love this book. It was one plot twist after another, concluding with what has to be the biggest plot twists in the series. There was never a dull moment! I have so many good memories from the series, and it’s definitely something that is not easily forgettable. Sanderson is a genius author, and gosh, his stories are so out there that it’s hard to see what’s coming. If you have not read this trilogy yet (or any of Brandon Sanderson’s writing), please do yourself a favor and pick one up. You won’t regret it!
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Prodigy by Marie Lu
Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopian
Synopsis: Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic’s most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots – a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?
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Of course as soon as I finished the first book, I picked the second one up right away. This series is weirdly addiction, and gosh is it a crazy rollercoaster ride!
I liked this book, but I just didn’t like it as much as the first one. I feel like this one bored me a little. There was some parts where I just felt like nothing was happening, and it started to lose my interest. Like I said above, at this point I’m pretty sure the characters are single handedly keeping me from putting this down. They went through a lot of development in this sequel, and i was totally there for it.
The story was a little rushed, I felt, though that could have been because I was reading at a breakneck speed, haha! I won’t say that it was a bad story, but it was just full of a lot of places where I felt there could have been more. At any rate, I couldn’t stop reading, and I really am enjoying this series.
The ending of this one was a terrible cliffhanger, and I can’t wait to read the next one!
Rating: 4/5 Stars
So that’s all for the month of October! I’m hoping to get a lot of reading done, but with school coming to an end, things will be busy! Bear with me, my lovely readers! Thank y’all for reading!
Have you read any of these books? Let me know in the comments below! As always, God bless y’all and have a wonderful week!
I'd Rather Be Geeking! 